How Arizona State football can upset Utah: 5 keys to victory
Arizona State has not beaten Utah since 2018, and Kenny Dillingham has not yet defeated a ranked opponent in his 17 games as the Sun Devils' head football coach.
Could those streaks end on Friday night?
If everything falls Arizona State's way and they play a clean game, it's possible. As of Wednesday afternoon, the oddsmakers had Utah as 6-point favorites.
Here are five keys to Arizona State upsetting Utah:
CONTAIN MICAH BERNARD
While the health of Utah quarterback Cam Rising is a hot topic heading into Friday's Utah at Arizona State Big 12 football matchup, Micah Bernard might be the bigger story.
Bernard, a sixth-year senior, has been one of the most explosive running backs in the country so far this season. He's averaging 6.7 yards per carry and had three consecutive 100-yard games in wins over Baylor, Utah State and Oklahoma State.
Arizona State's run defense was solid last week as they held Kansas RB Devin Neal to 71 yards - with 31 of those yards coming on one run. They'll need to be even better this week to contain Bernard and prevent the Utes from controlling the game with their running attack.
HOPE CAM RISING IS RUSTY
Assuming seventh-year senior quarterback Rising returns from his injury, ASU will need to hope he is not operating at 100-percent. The injury was to his throwing hand, and reportedly included a dislocated finger and stitches for a deep laceration.
Rising won't be medically cleared to play unless he can grip the ball, but even then he could struggle with timing and accuracy in his first game back. If he throws a few errant balls, ASU needs to take advantage.
If true freshman Isaac Wilson plays, it levels the playing field a little more for the Sun Devils. Wilson, the younger brother of Denver Broncos backup quarterback Zach Wilson, has a ton of talent, but he's not yet on the same level as the 25-year-old Rising, who is one of the best quarterbacks in the country. Wilson has completed 55.7% of his passes while throwing 6 touchdown passes and 7 interceptions while filling in for Rising.
TURN IT INTO A TRACK MEET
With a healthy stable of wide receivers and backs, and redshirt freshman QB Sam Leavitt playing at a high level, Arizona State's offense needs to dominate this game in order to win. The Sun Devils put up 35 points on Kansas last week - and they left a few layups on the field.
Jordyn Tyson dropped a potential touchdown pass at the 3-yard line, and Kansas came up with the interception. Ian Hershey had a 38-yard field goal blocked. And Tyson fumbled on a play that would have set up the Sun Devils with a first down on the Jayhawks 35-yard line.
ASU needs to put Utah in a position to chase the game and throw the ball more. Scoring early and often would accomplish that. Each team has played three Power 4 games. Arizona State is averaging 29 points in those games vs. 18.3 for Utah. The Utes are comfortable in lower scoring games where they can pound the running game. The Sun Devils need to prevent that situation by stepping on the gas from the opening kickoff.
UNLEASH RALEEK BROWN
To beat Utah, the Sun Devils are going to need multiple explosive plays - particularly from redshirt sophomore all-purpose back Raleek Brown.
Brown is fully recovered from his hamstring injury and he showed glimpses of his explosiveness vs. Kansas. He finished with 7 carries for 41 yards, including a 14-yard run.
Dillingham can deploy Brown in a variety of ways against Utah, including in the slot and the screen game. He's a skilled receiver and gives the Sun Devils a big-play option they lacked before last week. With Cam Skattebo drawing most of the attention coming out of the backfield, Brown needs to have a big game.
PACK MOUNTAIN AMERICA STADIUM
Dillingham has talked about it all season - the Sun Devils need energy from their fans. The sellout crowd was a factor in last week's win over Kansas, and ASU needs another sellout to beat Utah.
"I think this Friday night will be a fun test," said Dillingham. "You've got a 4-1 Utah team vs. a 4-1 Arizona State team on a Friday night on national television. The country's gonna see what kind of support we have for our football program. Every recruit in the country is gonna see the kind of support we have for our football program. And every recruit's gonna look at that ... and they're gonna say 'man that place is rocking' or they're gonna say 'not a lot of people there.' And I know that's weird, but that's the absolute truth."
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Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. One of his favorite memories was covering the 1999 Fiesta Bowl - the first BCS National Championship Game - at Sun Devil Stadium.